CHULA VISTA – The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office released the Student Success Scorecard this week, giving colleges and the public a clear way to measure student performance.
The scorecard tracks the rate of students completing certificates and degrees and transferring to four-year universities. The scorecard also measures how effectively colleges move students through remedial and career technical instruction.
The scorecards give college-by-college views of student performance and were a major recommendation of the Student Success Task Force.
“This new set of performance metrics makes the California Community Colleges the most transparent and accountable system of public higher education in the nation and is designed to help more students achieve their educational goals,” said California Community Colleges Chancellor Brice Harris. “The scorecard results make it clear how important preparation for college is to student success. If students come to college well prepared, they complete certificates and degrees or transfer at rates exceeding 70 percent. And for the first time, colleges will have clear data regarding student success by race, ethnicity, gender and age to help them focus on closing performance gaps.”
For Southwestern College, the scorecard outlines the successes in student achievement, but also highlights areas for improvement.
Southwestern College students have a 72.2% persistence rate, meaning they remain enrolled in the first three consecutive terms. Research shows students with sustained enrollment are more likely to succeed. That persistence rate is even higher for students who come to Southwestern unprepared for college-level work (73.2%).
Overall, 64.4% of students have achieved at least 30 units, another measure of likely completion.
The percentage of students who come to Southwestern College prepared for college-level work who complete a degree, certificate or transfer-related outcomes is 63.3%. Only 36.5% of those students unprepared for college-level work complete, however, giving Southwestern College an overall 43.1% completion rate.
“We have been closely monitoring student achievement data for the past year and collaborating with faculty, staff and administrative leadership to target areas for improvement,” said Superintendent/President Dr. Melinda Nish.
“Our efforts will align with six research-based success factors,” Nish said. “We are in the process now of studying how to best use our limited resources to give students the greatest opportunities for success.”
During the Fall Semester Opening Day Ceremony, Nish challenged college faculty and leaders to increase the student completion rate to 58% in three years. College-wide breakout sessions attended by more than 300 staff members during the Spring Semester Opening Day Ceremony strategized most effective practices to improve student achievement.
Those efforts are being further refined this semester for implementation in the fall.
Southwestern College’s Student Success Scorecard can be found at www.swccd.edu/studentscorecard